Harness return mechanism



F. -G. LAKE HARNESS RETURN MECHANISM June 12, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1943 INVENTOR. RANCIS G. LAKE ATTORNEY June 12, 1951 LAKE 2,557,033

HARNESS RETURN MECHANISM Filed Jan. 29, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

FRANCIS G. LAKE z/MZBW ATTORNEY June 12, 1951 F. G. LAKE HARNESS RETURN MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 29, 1948 INVENTOR. FRANCIS GLAKE ATTORNEY Patented June 12, 1951 HARNESS RETURN MECHANISM Francis Gerard.Lake,.New York; N. Y.,.assignor, by mesne assignments, to Steel and Alloy Tank Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 29, 1948, Serial No. 4,986

7 Claims. 1.-

The present invention relates to animprovement. inharness mechanisms for looms-and more particularly to harness return headmotions.

Sheddingdevicesof the type to which the present invention applies commonly include a plurality of harnesses carrying heddles through which pass the warp threads. The harnessesare suspended from the loom-arch by a harness motion and. are depressed by undercams which are mounted on. acam shaftior on an auxiliary shaft driven from said cam shaft and which operate on follower treadleszto which the harness frames are attached by straps. The cams serve to move the harnessesin only one direction, i. e;, downward. A head motion is necessary tobring the harnesses to their original position.

There are two general types of the undercam operated harness return head motion,v the type employed depending on the character of weave desired. One type of head motion is known as the positive harness motion. In this type, the harnesses of each. pair are both raised and lowered positively by the action of the undercams. As one-harness is moved downward by. the action of its undercam to form the lower shed, the other is moved positively upward by a strap and roller connection between th harnesses.

The other type of headmotionisknown as the semi-positive motion. In this type of motion, the-harnesses are pulled downward positively by the undercams but their upward or; return movement is dependent on some other action such as spring action. In a motion of this type, such as the so-called Brown spring top motion, each harness is supported near the sides by harness cords that pass over two idler: sheaves spaced andsupported at the top of the loom-arch. Theharness cords of each pair are connected finally to a stap which is fastened to one end of a long coil spring, the other end being anchored near. the lower end of the loom-arch. The coil springs are separate from the sheaves and extend vertically along one sideof the loom.

In the semi-positive motion of the prior art described, besides the comparative structural complications involved, the coil springs arearranged alongside of each other along the loom, necessitating thereby thespreading of the harnesses to afford the necessary clearances between the springs. Furthermore, this arrangementv is attended with a great dealof erratic springvibration, especially at high speeds.

One object of the present invention-is to pro,- vide anew and improved simplifiedharnesshead motion.

Another. object is to provide a new and improved compact harness head motion providing spring actuated returns of the harnesses with minimum of quivering or vibration of the springs and without spreading the harnesses unduly even when operating on amultiple scale of six or more harnesses.

A further object is to provide a new and improved harnesshead motion of the spring return type having improved means by which the tensions of the various springs can be selectively adjusted.

A still, further objectof the invention is to provide' a new and improved harness head motion of the spring return type in which spiral springs are employed and the springs, shafts and actuating pulleys are so arranged that sufiicient space isprovided to accommodate springs of a size to assure maximum spring life, minimum spacing between pulleys is possible, and a compact and flexible unit results.

Another object is to provide a new and improved harness head motion of the spring return type which can be easily and quickly changed from semi-positive operation to positive operation.

Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following particular description and from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is aplan view of a harness head motion embodying the present invention and arranged for semi-positive operation;v

Figure 2. is a frontv elevation of the harness head. motion-of. Fig. 1 with parts shown broken away. to revealsome of the interior structure;

Figure Sis a fragmentary front elevation of one of thedriving pulleys shown in Figure 2 but on an enlarged scale, with parts shown broken away to reveal some of the interior structure;

Figure 4 is a section of. a driving pulle-yunit taken. along the lines 44 of Fig. Zbut shown on a larger scale Figure 5: is the rear elevation of the spring housing of the harness head motion, part of the rear wallofv said housing being shown broken away to revealsome. of theinterior structure;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the harness head motion arranged for positive operation and shown with parts. broken away to reveal the interior structure; and

Figure 7 is. a front elevation of the harness head motion arranged for positive operation.

Referringto Figuresl-5 of the drawings, the shedding mechanism includes an undercam device (notishown). comprising acam shaft or an auxiliary cam shaft driven from said cam shaft, undercams on one of said shafts and treadles to which the harness frames 15 (only one being shown fragmentarily in Fig. 2) are attached by straps. The arrangement is shown for six harness work, although it must be understood that as far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, any number of harnesses may be employed.

Each undercam moves the harness which it actuates in one direction only, i. e., downward, a head motion being necessary to bring the harness back to its original position. In the specific form shown, the improved head motion comprises a series i i of axially aligned idler sheaves l2 corresponding to the harnesses in number and a similar series 53 of axially aligned idler sheaves It located in the respective planes of or in edgewise respective alignment with the sheaves 12 but spaced therefrom along the top of the loomarch H. The sheaves of each series are supported for independent idler rotation on a stud 15 secured to a bracket 15 mounted on the top cross-piece of the loom-arch I1.

Each harness frame H1 is suspended from the head motion by a pair of straps passing over a pair of coplanar idler sheaves l2 and M directly above said harness frame and fastened at their outer ends to a spring-pressed driving pulley, as will be described.

Three units 25, 28 and 21 of driving pulleys are provided spaced along the loom-arch H, each comprising a pair of driving pulleys arranged upon a common axis. The driving unit 25 comprises two grooved driving pulleys 28 and 38 disposed centrally between the two idler sheave sets H and I3 and located in the respective planes of or in respective edgewise alignment with the first two idler sheaves of each of said sheave sets. The driving unit 26 comprises two grooved driving pulleys 3| and 32 disposed between the driving unit 25 and the idler sheave set 13 and located in the respective planes of or in respective edgewise alignment with the second two idler sheaves of each of the sheave sets II and 13. The driving unit 21 comprises two grooved driving pulleys 33 and 34 disposed between the driving unit 25 and the idler sheave set I! and located in the respective planes of or in respective edgewise alignment with the last two idler sheaves of each of the sheave sets H and [3.

The driving unit 25 comprises a hollow shaft 35 (Fig. 4) journalled through bushings 36 and 37 in a long sleeve bearing 38 forming a forward extension of a spring housing 40. Keyed to the forward end of the shaft 35 is the driving pulley 30. Since the pulley 38 is desirably of light metal such as aluminum, the bore of said pulley is lined with a steel bushing 42.

The rear end 43 of the shaft 35 in the spring housing 16 has secured thereto the inner end of a spiral spring 44, the outer end being secured to an upper post 45 or a lower post 46 in said housing, according to the desired tension of said spring. For securing the inner end of the spiral spring M to the shaft end 43, said shaft end is made of square cross-section and the inner end section of the spiral spring is wound closely and rectangularly around said shaft end.

Extending centrally and telescopically through the hollow shaft 35 is a shaft 50 journalled in said hollow shaft through bushings i and 52 and projecting at both ends beyond the ends of said hollow shaft. Keyed to the forward pro- 4 jecting end of the shaft 50 is the driving pulley 28, which because of its light metal construction (aluminum) has a steel bushing 54. This pulley is retained on the shaft 5!! by a snap ring 55. A pair of washers 55 separate the two driving pulleys 28 and 30.

A lubricant fitting 58 in the bearing sleeve 38 and a series of holes 59 in the hollow shaft 35 allow for lubrication of the bearing surfaces of the two shafts 35 and 50.

The rear end of the shaft 50 has secured thereto a sleeve adapter 60 havin a square external cross-section to which the inner end of a spiral spring Bl is closely enfolded for anchorage, the outer end of said spring being secured to either the post 45 or 46 according to the desired tension.

The adapter 60 has a flange 63 for confining the spring 6| against axial displacement in one direction and is confined against axial displacement in the other direction by a snap lock ring 64 on the shaft 5!]. The spring 6| is retained on the adapter 69 against its flange 63 by a holding collar 65 embracing said adapter and held on said shaft by a snap rin 66. A washer 51 separates the adapter 50 from the hollow shaft 35.

Each of the front two harness frames I0 is suspended from the head motion by cables, ropes or straps l0 and TI. The strap 10 of the front harness frame If! passes over the first idler sheave l2 of the set H and around the upper side of the driving pulley 28 and is secured at its end to the periphery of said pulley. For removably and adjustably securing the end of the strap 10 to the driving pulley 28, said pulley has a series of holes 12 (Fig. 3), three being shown, at an angle with the radii of the pulley and the strap 'H] has secured thereto at an acute angle therewith a catch or spur 13 adapted to be slipped removably into any one of said holes according to the spring tension desired. The strap 75, as well as the other harness frame suspending straps, may be in the form of a steel core rope 74, enclosed in a protective comparatively soft sheathing 15. The spur 13 may have a split clamping sleeve I6 fastened to the steel core rope 74.

The other strap H of the front harness passes over the first idler sheave M of the set 13 and around the under side of the driving pulley 28 and is adjustably secured at its end to the periphery of said pulley by means similar to that described in connection with the strap 70 in Fig. 3.

The straps H1 and H of the second harness frame It pass over the second idler sheaves l2 and M of the two sets II and I3 and over the driving pulley 30 and are fastened to said pulley in a manner similar to that described in connection with the first harness frame.

As a result of the arrangement of the straps l0 and H with the pulleys 28 and 30, these straps have the effect of a couple on these pulleys tending to rotate them when the corresponding harness frames are lowered to form the bottom shed line.

In order to limit return upward movement or overthrow of the first two harness frames I0 through the action of their return springs 44 and 6!, as for instance upon breakage of their treadle straps, the two driving pulleys 28 and 30 have registering arcuate slots 78 concentric with said pulleys and conjointly receiving a stop pin 19 secured to a lateral extension 80 of the bearing sleeve 38.

In the operation of the head motion for the first two harness frames It, the two driving pulleys 28 and 38 are urged clockwise (Fig. 2) by the springs 44 and 6!. The undercams depress these harness frames it against the action of the springs 64 and GI, causing the driving pulleys 28 and 30 to rotate counterclockwise the springs 44 and GI to become unwound and the straps 10 and H to unwind from said pulleys. After the depressing movement of the harness frames if! by the operation of the undercams has been completed, these frames are made to move upwardly by the winding action of the springs 44 and 6!, causing rotation of the pulleys 28 and 30 clockwise and the Winding of the straps l and H on said pulleys. The rate of upward return movement is controlled by the rate of rotation of the undercams. The extent of upwardmovement of the harness frames I0 is limited by the engagement of one end of the slots #8 with the stop pin 19.

Instead of mounting the springs id and 6! so as to unwind during depressing movement of the harness frames in and to wind when said frames are released from the action of the undercams for return upward movement, these springs may be mounted to effect the reverse operations.

Each of the second two harness frames H3 is suspended from the head motion by cables, ropes or straps 8i and 82 passing over the corresponding third or fourth idler sheaves i2 and M on the two sets H and i3 and around the corresponding drivin pulley 3! or 32 of the unit 26 and adjustably secured to said pulley to provide a couple as in the case of the straps l0 and ll of the first two harness frames. The two driving pulleys 3! and 32 are mounted on encircling shafts and are rotatively spring pressed by two spiral springs 33 respectively contained in the housing it. The structure of the driving unit 26 is very similar to that of the driving'unit 25 and the pulleys 3i and 32 are limited in their rotation clockwise (Fig. 2) in a manner described and shown in Fig. 4.

Each of the last two harness frames It is suspended from the head motion by cables, ropes or straps st and 85 passing over the corresponding fifth or sixth idler sheaves i2 and M of the two sets H and I3 and around the correspondin driving pulley 33 or 34 of the unit 27 and adjustably secured to said pulley to produce a couple effect as in the case of the straps l0 and H of the first two harness frames. The two driving pulleys 33 and 34 are mounted on encircling shafts and are rotatively spring pressed by two spiral springs 86 respectively contained in the housing 49. The structure of the driving unit 27 is very similar to that of the driving unit 25 and the pulleys 33 and 34 are limited in their rotation clockwise (Fig.' 2) in a manner described and shown in Fig. 4.

The spring housing so has a front frame wall 88, and a separate cover as detachably secured thereto by studs 93 threaded into said front frame Wall and at least passing through tubes d5, '36 serving as anchor posts for the springs 44 and El. The brackets l6 supporting the sheave sets I l and it are integral or otherwise rigid with he front frame ho in wall 88 and have respective bases 92 seated on the cross-piece of the loom-arch I! and secured thereto. by studs 93. The front wall 88 of the spring housing 46 has end depending flange extensions 95 abutting the rear faces of the top cross-piece of the loomarch I1 and secured thereto by studs 96.

The sleeve bearin 38 of the driving unit as well as the corresponding sleeve bearings 91 and 98 of the driving units 26 and 2! respectively are integral with the front wall 88 of the In the semi-positive drive arrangement of Figs.

5, the harness frames It are positively depressed downward by the action of the undercams and against the action of the springs and are returned upward by the action of said springs. The whole arrangement is compact and sturdy and although comprising. six harness frames, one behind the other, the six springs therfor are enclosed in a housing not much deeper horizontally than the width of two of these springs and are located unobtrusively but nevertheless in accessible position.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 1-5, although set for six harness work, can be changed for operation with a less number of harnesses according to the character of the weave desired. Furthermore, since the individual harness return devices operate independently of each other, the

order of operation of the harnesses can be changed to suit the weaving conditions desired.

The semi-positive arrangement of Figs. 1-5 is adapted for use in the weaving of twills, drills, satins and the like. For plain weaving, the arrangement can be converted for positive operation, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In the positive arrangement of the head motion, the downward movement of one harness by the operation of its corresponding undercam is transmitted to another harness to raise said latter harness.

The positive head motion shown in Figs. 6 and '7 comprises a wheel [G8 having two grooved pulley conformations ldl and I02 and a comparatively long hub I03 internally lined by a steel bushing I64, required because the wheel body is of light metal and particularly aluminum. When converting from a semi-positive setting to a positive setting, the two pulleys 28 and in the arrangement of Fig. 4 are removed from the shafts and 56, the two washers 56 are removed from the shaft and an adapter I05 is slipped over the end portion lflfi of the outer shaft 35 projecting beyond the end of the bearing sleeve 38 and is keyed to the end of the inner shaft 59. The adapter N35 is retained on the inner shaft 50 by the lock snap ring 55.

The adapter W5 has an outer cylindrical bearing surface It? on which the pulley wheel I00 is journalled for free rotation and has an end flange Hi8 defining an axially facing shoulder confining said wheel against axial outward movement. Inner axial movement of the pulley wheel Hill is prevented by the engagement of its hub MS with the bushing 3'1.

The pulley wheel It!) has an arcuate slot [If] which corresponds to the arcuate slots 78 in the pulleys 28 and so and which receives the stop pin 79 to limit return movement of said wheel and thereby to prevent return overthrow of said wheel and to prevent perhaps downward overthrow movement.

The pulley wheel N30 is so located when mounted for operation, that the two pulleys l0! and 32 thereof correspond in position to the position of the driving pulleys '28 and 30, i. e., they are in the respective planes of the first two idler sheaves I2 and I4.

The first harness frame In is suspended by cables, ropes or straps II5 and IIS passing over the first idler sheaves I2 and I4 respectively. The strap II5 after passing over the first idler sheave I2 extends to the lower side of the pulley IEH and is secured to the periphery thereof in any suitable adjustable manner. The other strap IIB after passing over the first idler sheave I4 extends to the upper side of the pulley IOI and is secured to the periphery thereof in any suitable adjustable manner.

The second harness frame II] is suspended by cables, ropes or straps Ill and H8 passing over the second idler sheaves I2 and I4, respectively. The strap II'I after passing over the second sheave I2 extends to the upper side of the pulley I02 and is secured to the periphery thereof in any suitable adjustable manner. The other strap H8 after passing over the second sheave I4 extends to the underside of the pulley I02 and is secured to the periphery thereof in any suitable adjustable manner.

In the operation of the positive setting shown in Figs. 6 and '7, as the first harness frame I is lowered by the operation of the undercam, the wheel If!!! is rotated clockwise (Fig. '7) thereby unwinding the straps I I and I iii of said harness frame from the pulley IIlI. At the same time, the straps III and H8 of the second harness frame I6 are wound around the clockwise rotating pulley IE2 causing the upward return movement of said harness frame. When the second harness frame I5 is moved downward by the action of its undercam, the pulley wheel I80 is rotated counterclockwise (Fig. '7) causing unwinding of the straps II! and H8 from the pulley I92. At the same time, the straps H5 and IE6 are wound around the counterclockwise rotating pulley IBI causing the upward return movement of said harness frame.

Since the upper and lower shed lines converge forwardly, the shed movements of the harness frames progressively increase rearwardly. To compensate for this variation in the shedding movement of the two harness frames, the rearward pulley IE2 is made larger in diameter than the forward pulley IOI.

Although only a two harness setting is shown for positive operation in Figs. 6 and '7, any number of harnesses can be provided for such operation by utilizing the mountings of the driving pulley units 26 and 21.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited thereto, but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a harness head motion for a loom, a pair of coaxial telescopically arranged shafts, a pair of springs working on said shafts respectively and each rotatively urging its corresponding shaft, a pair of driving pulleys secured to said shafts respectively, and a pair of strap devices for suspending a pair of harness frames from said pulleys respectively having respective connections to said pulleys and each operatable to rotate its corresponding pulley in a direction against the action of its corresponding spring when the corresponding harness frame is moved downward, whereby when said harness frame is released for upward movement, upward return of said harness frame is effected by the action of said spring. I

2. In a harness head motion for a loom, the combination as described in claim 1, in which said shafts are mounted for independent rotation, and said pulleys are separate and independently rotatable.

3. In a harness head motion for a loom, the combination as described in claim 1, in which said springs are mounted coaxially with said pulleys and one behind the other near one end of shafts, said pulleys being mounted near the other end of said shafts, each of said springs having one end secured to a corresponding shaft and its other end anchored to a fixed post.

4. In a harness head motion for a loom, a plurality of pairs of coaxial telescopically arranged shafts, said pairs having their axes spaced along the loom-arch, springs working on said shafts respectively, each rotatively urging its corresponding shaft, driving pulleys secured to said shafts respectively, and strap devices for suspending harness frames from said pulleys respectively having respective connections to said pulleys and each operatable to rotate its corresponding pulley in a direction against the action of its corresponding spring when the corresponding harness frame is moved downward, whereby when said harness frame is released for upward movement, upward return of said harness frame is effected by the action of said spring.

5. In a harness head motion for a loom, the combination as described in claim 4, in which said springs are in the form of spiral springs having one end secured to a corresponding shaft and the other end anchored to a fixed post, the two springs associated with the shafts of each telescopic pair being arranged one behind the other at one end of the latter pair of shafts, while the two pulleys associated with said latter pair of shafts are secured thereto at the other end.

6. In a harness head motion for a loom, a pair of sets of coaxial idler sheaves arranged with the sheaves in one set in respective edgewise alignment with the sheaves of the other set; a plurality of pairs of coaxial telescopically arranged shafts, said pairs having their axes spaced along the loom-arch, springs each having one end secured to a corresponding shaft and the other end anchored to a fixed post, the two springs associated with the shafts of each telescopic pair being arranged one behind the other at one end of the latter pair of shafts, and being operatable to rotatively urge said latter shafts respectively, driving pulleys secured to said shafts respectively at the other end, said pulleys being disposed in different planes and in respective edgewise alignment with the idler sheaves of each set, and a plurality of pairs of straps for suspending a corresponding plurality of harness frames from said pulleys respectively, the straps of each pair passing over a pair of edgewise aligned idler sheaves respectively in the two sets and having connections to one of said pulleys in edgewise alignment with said latter pair of sheaves, each of said pair of straps being operatable to rotate its corresponding pulley against the action of its corresponding spring when the corresponding harness frame is moved downward, whereby when said harness frame is released for upward movement, upward return of said frame is effected by the action of said spring.

7. In a harness head motion for a loom, a plurality of driving pulleys with their axes interreturn of said harness frame is effected by the action of said spring.

FRANCIS GERARD LAKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 729,190 Knox May 26, 1903 2,455,263 Nichols Nov. 30, 1948 2,501,157 Brown et a1 Mar. 21, 1950 

